Kitchen Duty
by Devin Trinidad
Summary: Charlie volunteers to help Alastor with cooking.


Charlie, Alastor thought, was full of surprises. For the daughter of Lucifer, the King of all Hell, to be so gullible and idealistic...it was like she was blatantly advertising herself and her foolish dream to be preyed upon by the masses. Just about everyone would have stopped the little embers of hope from burning too brightly, but Charlie was different. She allowed that small pinprick of hope to flare and radiate with uncommon brilliance and intensity.

For other demons like himself, it was like watching a small lamb just waiting to be devoured as it frolicked around in a field of flowers. He was nothing more than a predator, but even he could see the merit in letting the adoring Princess of Hell to rest at ease for another day. She was still hesitant around him—still getting used to the idea of their being associates. Not that Alastor minded, of course. It was best to keep some sort of distance.

So, it came as a surprise when Alastor entered the hotel's kitchen to whip up an early dinner only to find the Princess of Hell resting against one of the counters. She looked to be contemplating something as he strode over to her, a careful smile on his features.

"Why, hello there, Charlie!" Alastor's grin exploded into a satisfactory smirk as he watched the young woman jump up in surprise. He didn't wait for her to regain her bearings as he loomed into her personal space and asked, "What brings you to the kitchen?"

As Alastor watched, he could see a faint haze of pink color the pretty apples of her cheeks and neck. What a pretty salivating sight, he couldn't help but think as he leaned against his cane. He raised a brow when the young woman managed to stutter out some unintelligible gibberish that only vaguely sounded like English.

He leaned in even closer to her, his nose brushing against her own. If it were even possible, her face seemed to grow an even more delectable shade of red. It did not help at all that there was a faltering flicker of a smile on her trembling black lips.

"My dear, I hate to ask this, but I beg your pardon?" He was careful to edge out of her personal space. He was, after all, still a gentleman.

"You know how dinner is in less than two hours? She looked up at him meekly, her eyes wide and still too trusting. At his nod of affirmation, she continued with a stutter. "Well… I was hoping—" She clapped her hands together. "—that I could help you out with cooking! And stuff!"

Alastor simply nodded at her, his face carefully masked with a wide smile to hide his befuddlement. "Well, what a surprise! Of course you can help me!"

At that moment, his grin immediately relaxed as he grabbed a hold of her petite hands.

"Oof!" Charlie found herself being whisked away into the kitchen. There, Alastor snapped his fingers and their normal, everyday outfits transformed into attire one would associate with chefs of high caliber. They wore white clothing that was accented with faint trace of red thread. "Wow!" Charlie couldn't help but crow in delight.

Alastor's grin grew ever wider at that. "Come, my dear! I'll show you true southern cooking!"

For the next few minutes, the Radio Demon taught the Princess of Hell how to handle knives and how to properly cut the produce. As the Crown Princess of Hell, she had been mostly catered to by her servants so she didn't know how to cook—she only had knowledge of the basics, if even that. Despite it all, however, Charlie was a quick, if a little too enthusiastic, learner.

Alastor found himself relaxing into her presence; she was just too adorable!

After a while, Alastor left the young woman to her devices as he manned the stove. He was quietly humming to himself as he stirred a soup in a gigantic pot when he heard a hiss and a gasping breath. That did not sound good at all. Calm and poised, he turned down the heat of the soup before facing his companion.

She was clutching her hand close to her chest, a few tears welling in her eyes. He tutted to himself as he approached the young woman. Tears should never be on a woman's face! That just wouldn't do.

"Are you all right, darling?" From within the confines of his white chef's uniform, he drew out a red laced handkerchief before offering a hand to the young woman. His smile grew wider when she hesitated, but ultimately gave him her hand.

Alastor tutted again. "You were getting a little cocky with chopping." He stated with the aplomb of someone used to making chaos in the kitchen.

Charlie bashfully chuckled to herself. "I might have, but—Oh!" The demoness bit down hard on her lip as Alastor ran water down her hand. Despite the sudden sting, Alastor was gentle and kind as he dabbed the cut on her hand clean and wrapped her hands with the aforementioned handkerchief. "Couldn't you have given me more warning time, Al!"

"Don't fret, my dear. The deed has been done and—" He ruffled her hair just a smidge before turning to the stove. "—we must hurry if we're going to have dinner on time."

"R-right!" Charlie turned back to the chopping, nervous energy was still about her. This time, Alastor took notice of this development.

"You have something you want to say to me." The Radio Demon took an experimental sip of his soup. Satisfied that the food was close to completion, he set the burner down low and faced his business partner. "I have a feeling that this has nothing to do with cooking."

"How...how do you know that?"

"Simple, you just answered my question right now. Also, you've been radiating nervous energy the whole time." Alastor laughed a little at Charlie's guilty expression. "Not that I mind. I do so love having that effect on people."

Charlie shuddered visibly at the casual mention that he was still one of the most powerful demons in Hell.

"Well, you see…" Charlie leaned against a counter as if she were trying to organize her thoughts. Although Alastor didn't know her that well, he could still tell that she knew what she was going to say, the only question was how. "It's about the hotel, my dream. You can't just be doing things just for entertainment."

Alastor looked at her steadily; his lips were closed, but he still held onto a small smile.

"What if I told you that I was being serious, my dear?" He learned in close to her personal space. "Do you not trust me, Charlie?"

"I want to. I really do." She shook her head. "But I still don't."

"As you should." Alastor fully faced her, then there was still a huge smile on his face, but the ominous crackle of radio static filled the air. If Charlie had more space behind her, she would have stepped back. "Tell me, aside from the cooking, why are you here?"

For a moment, Charlie balked at his straightforwardness. Yes, she knew that he was blunt at times, but she didn't think that Alastor would catch on so quickly. Then again, you don't go around toppling the ancient order of demons if you were stupid.

"Because," she paused for a moment, thinking really hard. "Because I want this business partnership to work. I want for all of this to end up being successful, to be some sort of legacy for me. I want this place to be a beacon of hope for the sinners who need their light in their life! And-and—" So empowered by her speech, she failed to notice that her emotions were getting the better of her.

For just a brief moment, her sclera had become bright red, the skin at the top of her forehead had erupted forth with tall horns. But it was the tears that had caught the Radio Demon off guard.

Bright, translucent droplets were falling down her cheeks and dribbling off her chin. Her cheeks, already flushed naturally, had become an even deeper shade of red. Her voice had wavered ever so slightly, but she stood tall and fierce in front of Alastor.

At that moment, Alastor took in everything about her. He cocked his head slightly to the right and furrowed his brow, the smile on his face dimming just slightly. And then—

"Ha ha ha!" He buckled down in laughter as the princess looked down at the taller demon with something akin to mortification.

"W-why are you laughing?" For the first time in a while, it was she who invaded his personal space. "I just talked my heart out and—Stop laughing!" The poor girl looked to be close to dissolving into tears.

"Oh, my dear…" He straightened to his full height and grabbed hold of Charlie's chin."Darling, Charlie, you don't have to prove yourself to me. I already know that you care so much about your dream. Don't worry—" He tapped her gently on the nose. "—I have no intention of letting your dreams fall to the wayside."

"Do you… do you really mean that?"

If Alastor had been anyone else, he would have cooed at the adoring sight. However, all he did was lean on his cane and smile indulgently at her.

"If you want, we could shake on—"

"No! No deals! Let's uh...let's get back to cooking?"

"Not in that state, my dear princess." At Charlie's confusion, he simply nodded at the makeshift bandages on her hand. "You don't want to contaminate the others now do we?"

Charlie nervously chuckled at that. "No, we don't! I guess, I'll just—" She made various hand motions that signalled that she was going to leave.

Alastor merely pushed her a little to get her on her way.

"Don't worry, my dear! Dinner will be served shortly!"

And with that, the princess had gone.

Alastor turned back to his pot of soup before noting that it was just about done. As he turned the stove off, he caught sight of one of his gloves. There was a peculiar stain one one of the fingertips… hmmm… He took an experimental lick and laughed.

Sweet. Her demonic blood, just like her personality, was sickly sweet.

"My," he muttered to himself, "you are so full of many surprises, my dear."


End file.
